All posts by Mike

First I thought it was an arrow pointing to a rock…

Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Kevin’s first Tuesday/Thursday ride since brain surgery was kinda slow… ok, really slow. But what’s not fair is that, three weeks from now, he’s predicting he’ll be finishing a day ahead of me on the big climbs again. Hate that. But today was slow, slow enough that we didn’t get to do the West Old LaHonda section. He promises he’ll be up to that on Thursday.

Just the two of us, but there were a fair number of other riders out there. And I was going to show Kevin the new “Cyclists Suck” graffiti someone had painted on the road up towards the top of Kings, but couldn’t see it. But did try to get a photo showing someone wrote “ROCK” in big green letters, with what looked like an arrow pointing to one. Except that I couldn’t find the rock. Then I look at the photo tonight and realize, oh, that’s where it used to say “Cyclists Suck” and someone crossed out “Suck” (hence the green line, which I thought was an arrow) and wrote “Rock” underneath. I get it!

There’s a bit of a pattern here; slower ride Tuesday, faster ride Thursday…

Personal stuff, Tues/Thurs 7:45am ride

Behind again here, and why not, pretty much everything in my world is behind right now. The “Essential Business” status for the bike shop has us going nuts from the opening bell until shortly before closing. It’s common for all three phone lines to be going at the same time, and with between 3-6 staff for customers at any given time, the math really doesn’t work out very well. We’ve actually had to leave a message on the answering machine that lets people know, if we can’t get to the phone during normal business hours, send us an email. Never, ever, thought we’d have to do something like that.

Been in this business for over 40 years and there’s never been a time like this. Kids bikes? Sold out. Mountain bikes & hybrids? Sold out. Some will be arriving in a few weeks, some in a couple months, some not until October???!!!

And then there’s the new shop. It’s not much fun paying for two locations while occupying just one! But construction is complicated, permits something we weren’t prepared for, and of course, not much time for a clear thought when things are so busy.

But there remains the bicycle, and despite the craziness, I’m still at it, commuting to the shop, dragging myself very slowly back home at the end of the day. Sundays, nothing too long, although that can change now that the county’s eliminated the 10 mile radius from home limitation. Pescadero here I come! Tuesdays have been relatively easy; Kevin (pilot) usually shows up and he’s happy with a moderate effort. Thursdays I’m typically on my own, and Thursdays are when I find the drive to hammer. Not just up Kings, but pretty much the whole ride. I seem to be in a game to get the highest average weighted power possible… up to 221 watts now.

I’m still here. –Mike–